Operation Safehaven:

Ohio Man Pleads Guilty to Copyright Infringement

Kevin J. O’Connor, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut
announced that MANPREET SINGH, age 22, of 7339 Craigmere Drive, Middleburg
Heights, Ohio, waived indictment and pleaded guilty today to an information
charging him with conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement. SINGH’S
plea of guilty was accepted this morning by Senior United States District
Judge Ellen Bree Burns in New Haven.

According to documents filed in federal court, SINGH was a participant in
the “warez scene” an underground online community that consists
of individuals and organized groups who use the Internet to engage in the
large-scale, illegal distribution of copyrighted software. In the warez scene,
certain participants (known as “suppliers”) are able to obtain access
to copyrighted software, video games, DVD movies, and MP3 music files, often
before those titles are available to the general public. Other participants
(known as “crackers”) then use their technical skills to circumvent
or “crack” the digital copyright protections. Others (known as “couriers”)
distribute the pirated software to various file servers on the Internet for
others to access, reproduce, and further distribute.

In pleading guilty, SINGH admitted that he was a member of at least two leading
warez groups “We Love Warez” (“WLW”) and “Phase.”
SINGH also admitted that he acted as a distributor or “courier”
of pirated software and that he uploaded and downloaded numerous illegal copies
to and from warez sites on the Internet.

“Stealing the intellectual property of others is no different from any
other form of thievery,” U.S. Attorney Kevin J. O’Connor stated. “It
is a priority of this Office and the Department of Justice to protect the
intellectual property rights of our nation’s inventors and creators.”

“Software piracy is theft by criminals, plain and simple,” added
Robin Avers, Special Agent in Charge of the New England Office of U.S. Immigration
and Customs Enforcement. “It is multi-billion dollar thievery, and ICE
will continue to target and dismantle those criminal organizations that abuse
the internet by facilitating and participating in this activity.”

SINGH faces a possible punishment of up to five years’ imprisonment, three
years’ supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000 when he is sentenced
by Judge Burns in May 2004.

This case was prosecuted as part of Operation Safehaven, a fifteen-month investigation
conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) and
the ICE Cyber Crimes Center, in conjunction with the U.S. Attorney’s Office
for the District of Connecticut and the Department of Justice, Computer Crime
and Intellectual Property Section (“CCIPS”). This case is being
prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn J. Chen and CCIPS Trial
Attorney Kenneth L. Doroshow.